Computer program, method, and system for monitoring nutrition content of consumables and for facilitating menu planning

ABSTRACT

A computer program, method, and system for dynamically and interactively providing nutrition content information for consumables such that a user may monitor, tailor, plan, and review their intake thereof in light of a health-related interest or concern, such as, for example, weight-loss, food allergies, or diabetes or other nutrition affected illnesses or disabilities. Consumables are categorized and displayed in lists associated with an appropriate color to draw attention to relative nutrition content and to facilitate quicker and easier evaluation of a consumable of interest. Summaries are provided of a user&#39;s actual intake in light of a pre-established target intake for a particular day. Detailed reports may be generated showing consumption over a user-specifiable time period.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation and claims priority benefit,with regard to all common subject matter, of earlier-filed U.S. patentapplication entitled “COMPUTER PROGRAM, METHOD, AND SYSTEM FORMONITORING NUTRITION CONTENT OF CONSUMABLES AND FOR FACILITATING MENUPLANNING”, application Ser. No. 10/889,577, filed Jul. 12, 2004, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,953,342, which is a continuation of earlier-filed U.S.patent application entitled “COMPUTER PROGRAM, METHOD, AND SYSTEM FORMONITORING NUTRITION CONTENT OF CONSUMABLES AND FOR FACILITATING MENUPLANNING”, application Ser. No. 09/878,651, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,817,863,filed Jun. 11, 2001. The identified earlier-filed patent applicationsare hereby incorporated into the present application by specificreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a computer program, method, or systemfor providing nutrition content information for consumables. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to a computer program,method, or method for dynamically and interactively providing nutritioncontent information for consumables such that a user may monitor,tailor, plan, and review their intake thereof in light of ahealth-related interest or concern, such as, for example, weight loss,food allergies, or diabetes or other nutrition-affected illnesses ordisabilities.

2. Description of the Prior Art

It is often desirable to monitor nutrition content of consumables,including, for example, calories, fat, sugar, protein, or carbohydrates.This is particularly true where such nutrition content may affect ahealth-related interest or concern, including, for example, weight loss,food allergies, or diabetes or other nutrition-affected illnesses ordisabilities. Relatedly, it is further desirable to plan futureconsumption based upon nutrition content, and to review past consumptionsummarized for a specifiable time period.

Various print resources exist to facilitate monitoring nutritioncontent. Books, for example, provide long lists of consumables andrelated nutrition information. Furthermore, most packaged consumablesprovide nutrition information on the packaging. Unfortunately, printresources suffer from a number of limitations and disadvantages. Books,for example, are bulky and difficult to conveniently tailor forefficient use by any particular person (short of adding or removingpages), which reduces likelihood of consistent use. Package-basedinformation is, of course, limited to packaged foods. Furthermore, printresources are generally unable to practically present nutritioninformation in a visually descriptive manner operable to convenientlyimpart to a user a sense of a particular consumable's place in anoverall monitoring scheme. Additionally, print resources are generallyunable to practically provide a convenient mechanism whereby futureconsumption can be dynamically planned and past consumption can bereviewed.

It is known to use computers and computer programs to facilitatemonitoring and planning intake of consumables. Existing programs,however, are typically non-interactive and non-dynamic and thereforeinconvenient and awkward to use, which may decrease compliance andeffectiveness. Furthermore, existing programs typically do not allow forsubstantial modification or customization to suit users' particularconsumption habits or preferences, which may make the programinapplicable to or unuseable by some people or cultures.

Due to the above identified problems and shortcomings in the existingart, an improved computer program or method is needed for monitoringnutrition information of consumables and intake thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a computer program, method, and systemfor dynamically and interactively providing nutrition contentinformation for consumables such that a user may monitor, tailor, plan,and review their intake thereof in light of a health-related interest orconcern, such as, for example, weight-loss, food allergies, or diabetesor other nutrition affected illnesses or disabilities. Nutrition contentof interest may include, for example, protein, carbohydrates, fat,vitamins, minerals, calories, sugar, etc. Consumables are categorizedaccording to a predetermined scheme of categorization, and thecategories are displayed as scrollable and searchable lists. The listsare associated with an appropriate color to draw attention to thecategories' relative nutrition content and to facilitate quicker andeasier evaluation of a consumable of interest. Furthermore, menus may beplanned in advance wherein projected intake of particular consumables isrecorded. Additionally, summaries are provided of actual intake in lightof a pre-established target intake for a particular day, week, month, orother user-specifiable time period.

The lists of consumables and associated nutrition content informationare stored in a database customizable with regard to adding or deletingconsumables and editing the nutrition content information. Thus, theuser is able to adapt the program to more personally reflect theireating habits and preferences. For example, a user who does not eat meatmay delete all meat items from the database in order to make finding andselecting non-meat consumables more convenient; and a user who useslow-fat or no-sugar ingredients or who reduces calories by baking ratherthan frying may edit the nutrition content information to reflect thechange. Furthermore, users from different cultures may tailor thedatabase to include consumables specific to that culture.

As mentioned, the consumables are categorized according to apredetermined scheme of categorization based upon the user'shealth-concern or interest. For example, where the user desires tomonitor calorie and fat content to facilitate weight loss, theconsumables may be divided into three groups—low, medium, and highcalorie and fat content—and the groups associated with an appropriatelyrecognizable display color, such as green for low or safe or desirable,yellow for medium or warning, and red for high or dangerous or generallyundesirable with regard to the nutrition content of interest, tofacilitate the user's recognition and understanding of any particularconsumable's effect, relative to other consumables, on the user's goals.

Though the computer program and method may be implemented on anycomputing device, including, for example, a desktop or laptop personalcomputer, in a preferred embodiment the computer program is stored onand executed by a small, portable, battery-power, dedicated hand-helddevice. Because the small hand-held device is more conveniently and lessconspicuously carried than a conventional desktop of laptop computer,the user is more likely to enter more consumption data at the time ofconsumption or shortly thereafter, thereby greatly increasing proper andconsistent use of the present invention.

These and other advantages of the present invention are furtherdescribed in the section entitled DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERREDEMBODIMENT, below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detailbelow with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting a system or apparatus that may beused to implement a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a first screen capture showing a first preferred interfacescreen generated by a preferred embodiment of a computer program of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a second screen capture showing a second preferred interfacescreen generated by a preferred embodiment of a computer program of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a third screen capture showing an input window generated by apreferred embodiment of a computer program of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a fourth screen capture showing a help window generated by apreferred embodiment of a computer program of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a fifth screen capture showing a hint window generated by apreferred embodiment of a computer program of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of a system 10 for dynamicallyand interactively providing nutrition content information forconsumables such that a user may monitor, tailor, plan, and review theirintake thereof in light of a health-related interest or concern, suchas, for example, weight loss, diabetes or other nutrition affectedillnesses, or food allergies.

The preferred system 10 broadly comprises a processor 12; an inputdevice 14; an output device 16; a memory 18; and a network connection20. The system 10 is independent of any specific nature or details ofits various components so long as the combination thereof is operable topractice the invention as herein described. Thus, the system 10 may, forexample, be a conventional desktop personal computer, a conventionalportable laptop or notebook computer, or a conventional networkedthin-client terminal. Alternatively, the system 10 may be a portable,exclusively battery-powered, hand-held dedicated device enclosed withina housing 22 and specifically adapted to practicing the presentinvention. This latter embodiment is advantageous in that the resultingdevice is smaller and less expensive than the conventional devicespreviously mentioned, and allows the present invention to be moreconveniently carried and practiced, thereby increasing likelihood andfrequency of use.

The processor 12 may be any suitable conventional processing deviceoperable to receive input from the input device 14, consult a databaseof consumables and related nutrition content information, and reportresults via the output device 16.

The input device 14 allows the user to provide input to the processor12. Such input may include login or identification information; targetconsumption values; and consumables already or prospectively consumed.As mentioned, the exact nature and details of the input device 14 aregenerally unimportant to the present invention, and may depend greatlyupon the nature of the system 10. For example, a general-purposeconventional computer system may provide a variety of suitable inputdevices, including a keyboard, a computer mouse or trackball, a lightpen, or a touch screen. A hand-held dedicated system or apparatus may bemore limited in the types of input devices able to be supported, and maybe limited to a stylus-type instrument.

The output device 16 visually and dynamically communicates informationto the user. The output device 16 is preferably a screen of somesuitable type, such as, for example, a conventional computer monitor ora liquid crystal display.

The memory 18 and network connection 20 are alternative or complimentarymechanisms for storing/accessing the computer program of the presentinvention. In some embodiments, only the memory 18 is included, it beingoperable to store the program, including the database of consumables, inits entirety. Any suitable memory 18 may be used, including a hard disk,a floppy disk, a compact disk, or a read only memory chip. In otherequally preferred embodiments, only the network connection 20 isincluded, it being operable to provide access via a communicationnetwork 24 (e.g., a local area network, a wide area network, or theInternet) to the program, wherein the program is remotely stored. Instill other equally preferred embodiments, both the memory 18 and thenetwork connection 20 are included. In these latter embodiments, a firstportion of the program may be stored in the memory 18 and a secondportion, possibly the database of consumables, may be accessed via thenetwork connection 20 and communication network 24.

The computer program comprises a combination of code segments accessibleto and executable by the processor 12 of the above-described system 10,and operable to facilitate monitoring, tailoring, planning, andreviewing intake of consumables based upon nutrition content in light ofa health-related interest or concern. The code segments may be writtenin any programming language, including JAVA or C++, as a matter ofdesign choice, and stored on any suitable computer readable memorymedia, such as, for example, a hard disk, a floppy disk, a compact disk,or a read only memory chip.

The preferred computer program broadly comprises a database (or a codesegment to access such) of consumables and related nutrition contentinformation; a code segment operable to generate an interactive displayscreen for display on the output device 16; a code segment providing forprospective menu planning; and a code segment for generating summariesof past consumption over a user specifiable time period.

The database serves as a repository of the nutrition contentinformation, which may be implemented as single large general datarepository or a plurality of smaller linked data-specific databases,and, as mentioned above, may be stored in the memory 18 forming a partof the system 10 or may be located in and accessed from one or moreremote memory storage devices. Where the database is remotely located,access thereto is preferably accomplished via the communications network24, such as the Internet.

Preferably, the user is able, as desired, to edit information stored inthe database, at least with regard to how the database appears to theparticular user. Such editing may include, for example, adding or deleteconsumables, or changing nutrition content information. Thus, thedatabase is customizable to the particular user's consumption habits,allowing the user to adapt the program to more personally reflect theireating habits and preferences. For example, a user who does not eat meatmay delete all meat items from the database in order to make finding andselecting non-meat consumables more convenient; and a user who useslow-fat or no-sugar ingredients or who reduces calories by baking ratherthan frying may edit the nutrition content information to reflect thechange. Furthermore, users from different cultures may tailor thedatabase to include consumables specific to that culture.

The code segment operable to generate an interactive display screen isalso operable to present scrollable or drop-down lists of consumables,wherein the consumables have been categorized according to apredetermined scheme of categorization based upon the particularhealth-related concern or interest. The lists are displayed associatedwith a color appropriate to facilitate the user's easy understanding andevaluation of a consumable of interest. For example, where the userdesires to monitor calorie and fat content to facilitate weight loss,the consumables may be divided into three groups—low, medium, and highcalorie and fat content—and the groups associated with an appropriatelyrecognizable color, such as green for low or safe, yellow for medium orwarning, and red for high or dangerous, to facilitate the user'srecognition and evaluation of any particular consumable's effect,relative to other consumables, on the user's goals. This particularlyadvantageous feature places each consumable into a larger context ratherthan presenting mere sterile information devoid of context. Thus, thepresent invention's use of color-based presentation allows for aconveniently intuitive evaluation of a consumable of interest.

The code segment providing for prospective menu planning allows the userto select a desired date, set a target value representing a maximumthreshold intake of one or more nutrients, and plan and store a menu ofconsumption for the selected day.

The code segment for generating historical summaries allows the user toreview past consumption and nutrient intake over a user-specifiable timeperiod, such as a day, week, month, or year. This advantageous featureallows the user to review their compliance and progress toward achievingtheir health-related goal.

Referring also to FIG. 2, the Interface Screen 28 provides a visualmechanism facilitating user interaction with the computer program, andcomprises a Title Bar 30; a Menu Bar 32; a Lookup Box 34; a plurality ofFood Categories 36; a Date Field 38; a Target Section 40; and a SummarySection 42.

The Title Bar 30 identifies the computer program and the current user,which is particularly useful where two or more persons use the sameinstance of the program on the same system 10. The identity informationdisplayed in the Title Bar 30 is provided by the current user who isrequired to login at the beginning of each session. The loginrequirement allows the program to record custom parameters selected bythe current user during the current session and retrieve any previouslyselect customs parameters; such parameters may include displaypreferences and edits to the list of consumables and nutrition content.

The Menu Bar 32 presents four menu anchors selectable to displaydrop-down menus of selectable functions. The four menu anchorscorrespond to a File menu 44; a Menu menu 46; an Options menu 48, and aHelp menu 50.

The File menu is a drop-down menu presenting a number of selectablefunctions, including Select Person; Add New Person; Delete Person; PrintReport; Preview Report; Printer Setup; and Exit. The Select Personfunction causes a list of previously registered users to appear fromwhich the current user may select him or herself, thereby making thelogin process more convenient. The Add New Person function allows theuser, if not previously registered, to login for the first time.Thereafter, to login the user may simply select him or herself from theSelect Person list. The Delete Person function allows a previouslyregistered user to be deleted such that their name will no longer appearon the Select Person list. The Print Report, Preview Report, and PrinterSetup are all conventional functions related to printing reports andsummaries of past consumption. The Exit function is conventionallyoperable to exit the computer program.

The Menu 46 is a drop-down menu presenting a number of selectablefunctions, including Add 1; Remove 1; Delete Item; Revise Item; New FoodItem. The Add 1 function causes one instance of a particular consumable,which is highlighted in the scrollable lists, to be added to the intakerecord. The Remove 1 function causes one instance of a particularconsumable, which is highlighted in the scrollable lists, to be removedfrom the intake record. The Delete Item function causes a highlightedconsumable to be deleted from the scrollable lists, thereby makingcustomization of the consumables database or corresponding lists moreconvenient. The Revise Item and Add New Food Item functions are similarin that each produces an interactive window 60 (see FIG. 4) wherein aconsumable's name, nutrition content, and portion size may be edited oradded in corresponding data fields, and the consumable may be reassignedto a different grouping or scrollable list. This latter reassignment maybe conveniently accomplished using selectable radio buttons 62corresponding to the various groups or lists. The Revise Item and AddNew Item functions are distinguishable in that the Revise Item functionapplies to consumables already present in the database such that thedata fields are initially filled with existing, editable data, whereas,using the Add New Item function, the data fields are blank.

The Options menu 48 is a drop-down menu presenting a number ofselectable functions, including Counts, Remaining, and Show Hints. TheCounts and Remaining functions toggle the display between, respectively,total nutrition content value consumed and percentage of total nutritioncontent value remaining for consumption relative to the pre-establishedTarget Values (where the Target Values represent 100%). The Show Hintsfunction, when selected, causes a hint window 68 to appear thatcommunicate consumption and nutrition tips (see FIG. 6). The tips arepreferably editable so that the user may customize the tips to their ownneeds.

The Help menu 50 is a drop-down menu presenting a number of selectablefunctions, including Help. The Help function causes a conventional helpscreen 66 to appear with which the user may learn about the presentinvention and investigate particular functions (see FIG. 5).

The Lookup Box 34 allows a user to quickly find consumables in thelists. In use, a user begins typing the name of the consumable into theLookup Box 34; as letters are typed, the box 34 actively matches thoseletters to a drop down menu of similarly named consumables, therebydisplaying consumables whose spelling matches the user input. At anypoint the user may finish entering the consumable's name or select itfrom the drop down menu. Once entered in the Lookup Box 34, theconsumable becomes the active item in the Food Categories 36.

The plurality of Food Categories 36 are scrollable lists 52,53,56 ofconsumables grouped according to one or more predeterminedcharacteristics, such as, for example, nutrition value, calorie values,or fat values. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, consumablesare divided into three groups—low, medium, and high calorie and fatcontent—and the groups are displayed in scrollable lists 52,54,56wherein each group is associated with an appropriately recognizablecolor, such as green for low or safe, yellow for medium or warning, andred for high of dangerous, to facilitate the user's recognition andevaluation of any particular consumable's effect, relative to otherconsumables, on the user's goals.

Also in the preferred embodiment, the lists 52,54,56 are labeled Go ForIt, Be Careful, and Stop . . . Think. The Go For It category 52 presentsa columnar scrollable list of selectable consumables which are generallydesirable, being, for example, low in calories and fat. Because thecolor green is generally associated with the concept of safety, the listis preferably highlighted or otherwise indicated in green.

The Be Careful category 54 presents a columnar scrollable list ofselectable consumables for which caution should be observed, they beinghigher in calories and fat than those in the previous category. Becausethe color yellow is generally associated with the concept of caution,the list is preferably highlighted or otherwise indicated in yellow.

The Stop . . . Think category 56 presents a columnar scrollable list ofselectable consumables for which a great deal of consideration should begiven prior to consumption, they being even higher in calories and fatthan those in the previous categories and generally undesirable orunsafe with regard to the nutrition content of interest. Because thecolor red is generally associated with the concept of danger, the listis preferably highlighted or otherwise indicated in red.

The Date Field 38 facilitates tracking consumption on a daily basis. TheDate Field 38 defaults to the current date when the program is executed,and can thereafter be adjusted to reflect any date the user desires. TheDate Field 38, in conjunction with the Summary Section 42 describedbelow, facilitates menu planning over an extended period of time,including days or weeks.

The Target Section 40 allows the user to set their own personal dailytarget values for nutrients, such as grams of fat and calories consumed.The target values provide threshold means for determining whether theuser's intake goals have been met.

The Summary Section 42 comprises two calenderic tables, a Month table 70and a Day table 72. The Month Table 70 includes twelve month cells 74,with each month cell 74 corresponding to a particular month of a year.Each month cell 74 contains four items, including the first threeletters of the name of the month (e.g., Jan for January); the number ofdays of that month for which consumption data has been entered; and afat value and a calorie value displayed in either “Count” or “Remaining”formats. In Count format, the fat and calorie values are displayed asTotal Target minus Total Consumed, wherein Total Target is calculated asthe daily Target Value multiplied by the number of days for which datahas been entered. In Remaining format, the fat and calorie values aresimilarly calculated though displayed as percentages, wherein TotalTarget is 100%. In either format, when Total Consumed fat or caloriesexceeds Total Target, the value is displayed in red to draw attentionand indicate a violation of the Target Values. The Summary Section 42 ofFIG. 2 illustrates the Count format; the Summary Section 42 of FIG. 3illustrates the Remaining format.

The Day Table 72 includes twenty-eight day cells 76 (four rows of sevencolumns), with each day cell 76 corresponding to a particular day of amonth. Each day cell 76 contains three items, including the month andday, and a fat value and a calorie value displayed in either “Count” or“Remaining” formats. The display formats are substantially similar tothose described above. In the Day Table 72, however, Total Target ismerely the Target Value, rather than a multiple thereof. Where TotalConsumed exceeds Total Target, the values are displayed in red.

For example, initially, each month cell 74 in the Month Table 70reflects no fat consumed and no calories consumed. If the user were toenter a target fat value of 35 and a target calorie value of 1800, eachcell 76 in the Day Table 72 would automatically change to reflect theseTarget Values. Subsequently, as the user enters consumption data for aparticular date, the fat and calorie values in that day cell 76 changeto reflect the consumption in light of the Target Values. Furthermore,the corresponding month cell 74 will change, as described above, toreflect that data has been entered for a day of that month.

The Month and Day Tables 70,72 provide convenient quick summaries ofconsumption patterns over time. They also facilitate menu planning inthat, upon adding an item to the consumption record, the user isimmediately shown the effect of the addition on their consumption goal.This is particularly helpful where the addition of a particular itemwould cause total consumption to exceed Target Values for that timeperiod.

With regard to the nature of the input device 14, the Interface Screen28 can be navigated and operated using a keyboard, mouse, stylus, orother similar input device. Using a keyboard, the menu items can beaccessed through the Alt-F(ile), Alt-M(enu), Alt-O(ptions) andAlt-H(elp). Conventional hot key techniques can be used to select dropdown menus or particular functions from the drop down menus. The mainscreen 28 is organized as a collection of tab stop addresses. Initialstop is the green list 52, followed by the yellow list 54, and the redlist 56, then the Date Field 38, the Target Section 40, and finally theLookup Box 34 from which the tab stop cycle repeats. Within the lists52, 54, 56, the keyboard's up and down arrows allow scrolling throughthe list 52, 54, 56, and the enter key allows the user to change theconsumption count. Within the Date Field 38, the right and left arrowkeys navigate among subfields, and up and down arrow keys change values.

In operation, a user is first asked to identify him or herself, eitherby selecting their name or identifier from a list of registered users,or by creating a new registration. This feature enables the program tostore and display user-specific information, including, for example,Target Values, planned menus, and summaries of past consumption. Thecurrent user's name will appear in the Title Bar 30.

The program defaults to the current date; however, any desired date maybe entered in the Date Field 38 or selected from the calenderic SummarySection 42. This feature is particularly useful where the user has notentered data on a daily basis and seeks to update their consumptionhistory.

Upon start-up, a diet tip or hint is presented. The user may ask foradditional hints, or turn off the hint feature. Furthermore, the usermay alter, add, or remove diet hints, as desired.

The user may then set, in the Target Section 40, nutrition TargetsValues for that date. In the illustrated example, calorie and fatcontent are the values of interest. The Target Values are used asthreshold values in the consumption summaries.

Once the Target Values are set, the user may proceed to investigateconsumables from the scrollable lists 52, 54, 56. When the user cannotfind a particular consumable in the lists 52, 54, 56 or finds that thelists 52, 54, 56 are inconveniently cluttered with consumablesinfrequently or never consumed, the user may add a consumable to ordelete a consumable from the database. This feature is useful foradapting the database to the user's eating preferences and habits. Inextreme situations, the entire existing database may be deleted and avariety of alternative consumables added. Thus, for example, the programcan be easily adapted to be applicable to any person of any culture inany city or region of any country. Similarly, the user may change thenutrition content information for a particular consumable. This latterfeature is particularly useful where ingredients, preparation, orserving size has been changed to result in a consumable having differentnutrition characteristics.

The user may select a particular consumable from the lists 52, 54, 56 bydouble-clicking it or highlighting it and selecting Add 1 from the Menumenu 46 to indicate that one or more instances of the consumable hasbeen or will be consumed. The selected consumable and its associatednutrition information is then added to the consumption history. The usermay also remove or deselect an inadvertently or mistakenly selectedconsumable by highlighting it and selecting Remove 1 from the Menu menu46.

As the user enters or edits consumption data for a particular date, thefat and calorie values in that day cell 76 change to reflect theconsumption in light of the Target Values. Furthermore, thecorresponding month cell 74 will change, as described above, to reflectthat data has been entered for a day of that month.

At any time, the user may preview or print a report of consumption overa specified time period, such as, for example, a day, week, month, oryear. The program may be set to format the report based upon menu order,date order, or other ordering interest. The report provides greaterdetail, including a breakdown of consumables, than the summarizedinformation provided in the Summary Section 42.

From the preceding description, it can be appreciated that the presentinvention provides a computer program and method for dynamically andinteractively providing nutrition content information for consumablessuch that a user may monitor, tailor, and plan their intake thereof inlight of a health-related interest or concern, such as, for example,weight loss, diabetes or other nutrition affected illnesses, or foodallergies. Although the invention has been described with reference tothe preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawings, it isnoted that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made hereinwithout departing from the scope of the invention as recited in theclaims. Those skilled in the art will appreciate, for example, thatthough described herein in terms of menu planning, wherein calorie andfat intake is of prime consideration, the present invention hasapplication to menu planning wherein other food characteristics areemphasized. For example, an equally preferred version of the presentinvention may be tailored to menu planning for persons with particularallergies; illnesses, such as diabetes; or disabilities affected by theconsumption of certain foods.

1. A hand-held apparatus for providing nutrition content information,the hand-held apparatus comprising: a housing; a computer-readablememory located within the housing and storing a combination of codesegments and a database including consumables and related nutritioncontent information; a processor located within the housing and operableto execute the combination of code segments and access the database tosort the consumables into a plurality of lists corresponding to ahealth-related concern; an output device incorporated into the housingand operable to display an interactive display screen generated by thecombination of code segments, the interactive display screen presentingthe lists and a remaining consumption value; and an input device coupledwith the processor and operable to allow a user to select a particularconsumable from the lists and to enter a target consumption valuecorresponding to a maximum future intake of one or more nutrients,whereupon the processor determines the remaining consumption value basedon the difference between the target consumption value and the relatednutrition content information of each selected consumable.
 2. Ahand-held apparatus for providing nutrition content information, thehand-held apparatus comprising: a housing; a computer-readable memorylocated within the housing; a network connection coupled with the memoryand operable to access a communications network to retrieve consumablesand related nutrition content information to store in the memory; aninput device coupled with the housing and operable to allow a user toprovide an input; a processor located within the housing and operable toaccess the memory to sort the consumables based on the input; and anoutput device incorporated into the housing and operable to display thesorted consumables.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the outputdevice is an interactive display screen.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the communications network is selected from the group consistingof: a wide-area network, a local-area network, the Internet, andcombinations thereof.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the memoryincludes a database and the consumables and related nutrition contentinformation are stored in the database.
 6. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the input relates to a target consumption value and theconsumables are sorted based on the target consumption value.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 6, wherein the target consumption value correspondsto a maximum future intake of one or more nutrients and the consumablesare sorted based on the difference between the target consumption valueand the related nutrition content information of each consumable.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 7, wherein the consumables are sorted by identifyingthe consumables that do not exceed the target consumption value.
 9. Amethod for providing nutrition content information, the methodcomprising the steps of: utilizing a hand-held apparatus to access acommunications network to retrieve consumables and related nutritioncontent information; storing the retrieved consumables and nutritioncontent information in a memory contained within the hand-heldapparatus; receiving an input with the hand-held apparatus; sorting theconsumables based on the input and the nutrition content informationutilizing the hand-held apparatus; and displaying the sortedconsumables.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the communicationsnetwork is selected from the group consisting of: a wide-area network, alocal-area network, the Internet, and combinations thereof.
 11. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the retrieved consumables and nutritioncontent information are stored within a database contained within thememory.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the input relates to a targetconsumption value and the consumables are sorted based on the targetconsumption value.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the targetconsumption value corresponds to a maximum future intake of one or morenutrients and the consumables are sorted based on the difference betweenthe target consumption value and the related nutrition contentinformation of each consumable.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein theconsumables are sorted by identifying the consumables that do not exceedthe target consumption value.
 15. A hand-held apparatus for providingnutrition content information, the hand-held apparatus comprising: ahousing; a computer-readable memory located within the housing andstoring a database including consumables and related nutrition contentinformation; an input device coupled with the housing and operable toallow a user to provide an input; a processor located within the housingand operable to access the database to sort the consumables based on theinput; and an output device incorporated into the housing and operableto display the sorted consumables.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15,wherein the input is associated with a calendar date and the consumablesare sorted and displayed based on the calender date.
 17. The apparatusof claim 15, wherein the output device is an interactive display screen.18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the input relates to a targetconsumption value and the consumables are sorted based on the targetconsumption value.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the targetconsumption value corresponds to a maximum future intake of one or morenutrients and the consumables are sorted based on the difference betweenthe target consumption value and the related nutrition contentinformation of each consumable.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, whereinthe consumables are sorted by identifying the consumables that do notexceed the target consumption value.